16

Psychoanalysis
The ego is not master in its own house.
-SiGMUND FREUD (1917/1955)

Like behaviorism, psychoanalysis moved beyond a system of psychology to become an

intellectual movement. Psychodynamic theory connected with many fields including litera
ture, philosophy, art, religion, and history. And like behaviorism, psychoanalysis inspired both
devotion and derision. Debate stillrages about its true impact on psychology (see Crews, 1996;
Horgan, 1996). Some scholars insist its influence is vanishing while others claim psychoanalysis
is alive and robust. In terms of the number of professional organizations, journals, and books the
evidence supports the latter claim. We begin with a biographical sketch of its founder, Sigmund
Freud.

SIGMUND FREUD
Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) was born on May 6, 1856, in the small town of Freiberg, Moravia,
now a historical region in the Czech Republic. His father, Jakob Freud, was a wool merchant
who had two sons by a previous marriage. Sigmund was the first of the eight children of Jakob
and Amalie Nathansohn. In 1860, Jakob and Amalie settled in Vienna, acity that became Freud's
home for the next seventy-eight years. Anti-Semitism colored day-to-day life and narrowed vo
cational opportunities for Jewish citizens. Jones (1953) relayed the story of athug who knocked
Jakob Freud's new hat into a puddle of mud and then demanded, "Jew get off the pavement"
(p. 22). Jewish citizens became common victims of hostile acts and demeaning humor. Such
a climate had a profound effect on Sigmund Freud's thought and character (see Bakan, 1958;
Miller, 1981; Roith, 1987).
Always a precocious student, Freud graduated from high school summa cum laude at age
seventeen. He excelled in literature, history, and science. His facility with languages was evident
in his competence in Latin, Greek, French, English, Italian, Spanish, and Hebrew. In 1873, Freud
matriculated in the University of Vienna, where he pursued a degree in medicine. Like William
James, his interests ranged over the entire curriculum. He attended Franz Brentano's courses in
philosophy and psychology as well as a course on evolution taught by zoologist Carl Claus and
393
394 Part 4 Psychology from the Formal Founding in 1879

symptom of her hysteria, Breuer stopped the

therapy, leaving her in the care of a colleague. In
time, she overcame the hysteria and became one
of Germany's first feminists and a pioneer in the
field of social work.
Breuer first described her to Freud in
1882. More than a decade later, they discussed
Pappenheim's case in a classic book titled Studies
in Hysteria. The authors used the pseudonym
Fräulein Anna O rather than Pappenheim's real
name. They also shrouded the details of her false
pregnancy and actual recovery. In a previously
unpublished letter discovered by Forrester and
Cameron (1999), Freud described the case of
Anna O as a "cure with a defect." Nonetheless,
Anna O became the first case study in psycho
analysis and solidified Freud's early ideas about
psychotherapy.
In his third year at the university, Freud re
ceived a grant that paid for two brief trips to Triste,
where he studied marine biology. Afterward, his
Sigmund Freud
research interests centered on anatomy and physi
ology. Although he would have preferred work in
a course on the physiology of voice and speech Ermst Brücke's lab, dismal prospects for advance
taught by Ernst Brücke (1819-1892). ment as well as personal financial exigencies
From 1876 to 1882, Freud worked in forced him into a medical career. He served as
Brücke's laboratory, where he met a respected a resident in the Vienna General Hospital from
physiologist fourteen years his senior named 1882 to 1885 where he fell in love with a young
Joseph Breuer (1842-1925). In December 1880, woman named Martha Bernays. Not long after
Breuer began treating Bertha Pappenheim, a re meeting her, Freud had flowers delivered every
markable twenty-one-year-old woman who had day to his "princess." He dreamed of marrying
developed hysteria while caring for her dying Martha, but the poverty-stricken student couldn't
father. Breuer tried to determine the psychologi support her.
cal cause for Pappenheim's headaches, loss of Around this time, Freud discovered a
sensation, partial paralyses, and vivid hallucina "magical substance" extracted from coca leaves.
tions about skeletons and black snakes. He noted that alkaloid cocaine gave him a sense
After Breuer hypnotized Pappenheim, she of good cheer and energy, warding off depression
relived traumatic events that had escaped her and indigestion with "brilliant success." He ini
conscious memory. During their sessions, she tially denied its addictiveness (Cohen, 2012), and
made dramatic progress after giving conscious according to Jones (1953), Freud recommended
expression to disturbing memories and emotions. the drug to "his friends and colleagues, both for
Breuer referred to this process as catharsis while themselves and their patients; he gave it to his sis
Pappenheim called it her talking cure or chim ters. In short, looked at from the vantage point of
ney sweeping (Gay, 1988). After several years our present knowledge, he was rapidly becoming
of therapy and significant progress, Pappenheim a public menace" (p. 81). In an awkward but en
announced she was pregnant with Breuer's thusiastic letter to his fiancée, Freud raved about
child. Although the false pregnancy was another cocaine:
 Chapter 16 " Psychoanalysis 395

Woe to you, my Princess, when I come. did not debut until a full decade after Freud had
Iwill kiss you quite red and feed you till established his clinical practice (Jones, 1953).
you are plump. And if you are froward you During the earliest phases of his practice, he used
shall see who is the stronger, a gentle litle electrotherapy (not to be confused with electro
girl who doesn't eat enough or a big wild convulsive therapy). Conventional wisdom held
man who has cocaine in his body. In my that deficiencies in circulation produced mental
last severe depression I took coca again and disorders. As a remedy, electrotherapy consisted
a small dose lifted me to the heights in a of passing small currents of electricity through
wonderful fashion. I am just now busy col the skin and muscles of the head to improve cir
lecting the literature for a song of praise to culation. Later, Freud used hypnotic suggestion
this magical substance. (Jones, 1953, p. 84) before trying Breuer's cathartic method. His tech
nique of free association evolved from a growing
Freud hoped his research on the drug's disillusionment with other therapeutic methods.
medicinal benefits might establish his reputation Freud'sbest-known book, The Interpretation
(Markel, 2011) but soured on it after discovering of Dreams, appeared in November 1899 as Die
cocaine's darker, more addictive side. After his Traumdeutung (the publisher postdated the book
disappointment, Freud impressively quit using as 1900 to reflect a new way of thinking for a new
cocaine. In addition, a friend named Karl Koller century). Freud advanced his familiar position that
presented research on cocaine as a local anesthetic dreams represent wish fulfillments in disguise.
before Freud could deliver his "song of praise" Now regarded as a classic in psychology, the book
(in a spurt of paranoia, he claimed Koller had first did not bring instant fame to its author (Fancher,
seen him use it on a patient, robbing Freud of the 2000). Initial reaction was sharp and hostile, es
chance for scientific celebrity). pecially in Viennese circles. In time, the book
During his time at the Vienna General attracted attention, granting renown for Freud
Hospital, Freud gained experience in surgery, in within a decade after its publication.
ternal medicine, dermatology, and ophthalmology, Freud's bibliography following The
but found little joy in such pursuits. Everything Interpretation of Dreams reveals an impressive
changed when he discovered psychiatry. The output of books, shorter papers, and case histories
turning point came when he worked in Theodore designed to elaborate and extend his system of
Meynert's psychiatric clinic and in Franz Schol's psychological thought. So prolific were his writ
Department of Nervous Diseases. ings that the collected works are now contained
In September of 1885, Freud was appointed in twenty-three volumes with an additional vol
Privatdozent (a lecturer paid only by student fees) ume devoted to indexes and bibliographies (see
in neuropathology. He worked five months in Strachey, 1953-1974).
Jean-Martin Charcot's (1825-1893) neurology In 1909, Freud accepted G. Stanley Hall's
clinic at the Pitié-Salptrière Hospital Paris. invitation to speak at Clark University. Gay
This opportunity sparked Freud's interest in hys (1988) observed that prior to his American lec
teria and hypnosis. The experience was pivotal tures, psychoanalysts "represented a small, em
because the Paris School focused on the psycho battled minority in the psychiatric profession;
logical nature of emotional problems, whereas the Freud's ideas still remained the property of the
Vienna group advocated physical interpretations. few, and a scandal to most" (p. 206). The Clark
Following his time in Paris, Freud returned to visit enfranchised psychoanalysis in America,
Vienna, where he launched a private practice especially in the psychiatric community, and
on April 25, 1886. That same year, following a helped turn psychoanalysis into an international
lengthy engagement, he married Martha Bernays. movement (see Burnham, 2013). The success of
Freud's system of psychotherapy did not de the American visit prompted Freud to regard the
velop suddenly. In fact, the term psychoanalysis Clark University ceremony as the "first official
 396 Part 4 " Psychology from the Formal Founding in 1879

The 1909 Conference at Clark University played host to some of psychology's most influential pioneers. In the
front row, Clark's president G. Stanley Hall (center, hat in hand) stands next to Sigmund Freud (hat and cane);
Carl Jung stands to the right of Freud. E. B. Titchener stands in the front row, second from the left. To his right
is William James (holding hat and coat) and J. M. Cattell appears behind and to the right of James.

recognition of our endeavors" (Jones, 1955, p. 57). but he had a great appreciation for art, especially
William James was one of many luminaries who sculpture. Besides cigars, his major indulgence
attended Freud's five lectures. The two men later was a collection of antiquities (mostly sculptures
met for a walk but were interrupted when James of ancient figures) that guarded his desk like bat
experienced pain from the aggravated heart con tle-hardened sentries.
dition that would claim his life nearly a year later. As with countless Jewish scholars, Freud's
Inspired by James's stoicism, Freud (1924/1959a) life and work faced upheaval with the rise of
later wrote, "I have always wished that I might be Adolf Hitler, and this upheaval for Freud and
as fearless as he was in the face of approaching others in the growing psychoanalytic tradition
death" (p. 52); Freud would have the chance to had profound effects on the emergence of psy
find out. choanalysis (Gitre, 2011). On May 10, 1933, the
Freud's biographers paint the picture of Nazis burned Freud's books along with the works
a brilliant thinker with a complex personality of other intellectuals in numerous public squares
(Gelfand &Kerr, 1992). On one hand, he could ap (Gay, 1988). After hearing news about the Nazi
pear shy almost to the point of lacking confidence, bonfire, Freud responded with characteristic gal
but the timidity was often only an appearance. lows humor: "What progress we are making. In
Freud experienced brief periods of depression but the Middle Ages they would have burnt me: now
could also be joyful, enthusiastic, or even jubilant. adays they are content with burning my books"
His creativity was often inconsistent as he suffered (Jones, 1957, p. 182). Tragically, the Holocaust
through periods when he seemed incapable of pro would reveal that the Nazis conspired to destroy
more than books.
ductive work. Such times were typically eclipsed
by bursts of creative industry. In 1938, the Nazis invaded Austria. One
Freud had a strong devotion to his family. day, a gang of Nazi authorities invaded Freud's
Although he worked unusually long hours, he bome. His youngest daughter, Anna, escorted
nevertheless found time for Martha and their them to the family safe and opened it. The men
five children. His tastes in music were narrow, took $840 (almost $14,000 in today's economy).
 Chapter 16 " Psychoanalysis 397

"Freud ruefully commented on hearing of it later determined by the principle of cause and effect"
that he had never been paid so much for a single (p. 94). Other scholars (Brown, 1964, p. 3; Jones,
visit" (Jones, 1957, p. 219). At first defiant, Freud 1953, p. 304: Wisdom, 1943) have emphasized
finally agreed to leave Vienna at the urging of Freud's strong commitment to determinism. As
friends. we will see later, however, the issue of freedom
Stricken with cancer of the jaw, his last surfaced in Freud's work.
months were spent in exile in London. His af
filiation with B'nai B'rith, as wel as his theories, BELIEF IN THE CONTINUITY OF THE ANIMAL
made him a prime target for Nazi hostilities. KINGDOM In his autobiographical study,
Had Freud been a gentile, perhaps his theory Freud (1924/1959a) basked in Darwinian theory
would have fared no better with Nazi ideology. because it suggested that knowledge of natu
Totalitarians such as Stalin and Hitler do not like
ral processes enhances our understanding of the
to believe their intellectual constructions might world. In an open letter to Albert Einstein on
have uncontrollable and unconscious psychologi the subject of war, Freud (1932/1964a) insisted
cal origins. that humans are not excluded from the animal
Freud's time in London was seldom pleas kingdom. According to Jones (1953), Freud
ant. The shrill cry of air raid sirens announced subscribed to the evolutionary position that "no
night after night of Nazi assaults on the city. spirits, essences, or entelechies, no superior plans
During much of it, he remained in bed, struggling ultimate purposes are work. The physical
to fight cancer. Despondent and in poor health, energies alone cause effectssomehow" (p. 42).
Freud convinced his friend and physician, Max Freud believed a naturalistic study of human na
Schur, to administer three centigrams of mor ture offered distinct advantages.
phine on September 21, 1939 (Gay, 1988). Schur
repeated the injection twice more the following ROLE OF UNcONSCIOUS INFLUENCES
day. After the final and fatal dose of morphine, Freud's belief in the unconscious is a defining fea
Freud lapsed into a coma. He died on September ture of his psychology. He believed that irrational
23 as a result of physician-assisted suicide. unconscious motives influence rational conscious
processes. It's a troubling idea that challenges our
General Characteristics of Freud's cherished belief in human rationality. Even more
Thought disturbing, he insisted that unconscious forces
can sometimes marshal the authority to dominate
Though Sigmund Freud's psychology evolved the conscious mind. When this happens, accord
over time, several philosophical assumptions ing to Freud (1917/1955), "the ego is not mas
guided his work. We'll review six defining char ter in its own house" (p. 143). Nevertheless, he
acteristics of his theory and then consider details believed human beings can escape the bondage
of his system.
of unconscious influences. As we will see later,
Freud's goal of psychoanalysis returns the ego to
DETERMINISM Freud was an unapologetic "its mastery over lost provinces of. . mental life"
determinist. He argued for a methodology that (Freud, 1938/1964b, p. 173).
assumes natural causes for all mental events
(MacMillan, 1991). Gay (1988) wrote, "It is a DEVELOPMENTAL EMPHASIS Classic psy
crucial point in Freud's theory that there are no choanalytic theory stressed the importance of
accidents in the universe of the mind'" (p. 119). development and growth. Freud understood that
Sulloway (1979) noted that "Freud's entire life's needs and abilities vary as a function of age.
work in science was characterized by an abiding According to his theory, early childhood events
faith in the notion that all vital phenomena, in color later adjustment. At the same time, the child
cluding psychical ones, are rigidly and lawfully must negotiate critical developmental periods